Apple Pay partner Stripe valued at $3.5 Billion in new funding: Stripe Inc. has raised $70 million in a financing round that values the digital-payments startup at $3.5 billion.

The funding is from new and existing investors, said Kelly Sims, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based company. The fundraising doubles the value of Stripe since January, when it raised money at a $1.75 billion valuation. (Bloomberg)

Bezos defends Amazon's lack of profits, stance on publishers: Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, was unapologetic about his twenty-year-old company's lack of profit during a rare public appearance on Tuesday, noting he spends just six hours a year on investor relations.

Bezos also discussed Amazon's acrimonious dispute with publisher Hachette Book Group and his purchase of the Washington Post. He acknowledged that Amazon had a succession plan in place, but remained tight-lipped about the details. (Reuters)

Skype co-founder backs Wire, a new communications app launching today on iOS, Android And Mac: Skype co-founder Janus Friis is backing a new communications app called Wire, out now for iOS, Android and Mac OS X. The app itself is the reimagining of how a communications tool like Skype should operate had it been built today. Much of that, in Wire's case, means under-the-hood improvements that users don't necessarily see, such as advancements in media processing, audio technology, file compression and delivery, and more.

Wire pairs this more solid infrastructure with an uncluttered, simple design that will likely be the initial attraction for mainstream users. (Tech Crunch)